Air India mulls deputing pilots to aid troubled Vistara: Report

Air India mulls deputing pilots to aid troubled Vistara: Report

Tata-owned Air India is planning to send a group of first officers capable of flying the narrow-body A320 family planes to assist Vistara, reported news agency PTI.Â

These pilots would be sent to Vistara on deputation, pending necessary regulatory approvals, sources informed, as the airline is facing disruptions in its operations since many pilots have quit.Â

The number of narrow-body pilots likely to be deputed to Vistara could be a little over 30, as per the sources mentioned in the report. They noted that it would mark the first instance of Air India pilots being deputed to Vistara for operating narrow-body aircraft.

Already, around 24 pilots from Air India are on deputation to operate Vistara’s wide-body Boeing 787 planes, comprising 16 commanders and eight first officers.

Vistara announced on April 7 that it would cancel around 25–30 flights per day as it works to mitigate the impact of a shortage of pilots available for duty.

“We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25–30 flights per day, i.e. roughly 10% of the capacity we were operating. This will take us back to the same level of flight operations as at the end of February 2024,” said Vistara in a statement, which typically operates approximately 350 flights daily.

The airline had previously received approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to increase its flight operations by 22% per week this summer compared to the winter season.

The flight cancellations by Vistara are expected to lead to fare increases, particularly on metro routes. Vistara operates approximately 18 flights per day on the Delhi-Mumbai route, trailing only IndiGo, which operates 19.

Vistara, a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, employs around 6,500 individuals, including 1,000 pilots and 2,500 cabin crew. The airline is in the process of merging with Air India and operates a fleet of 70 aircraft, including 53 Airbus A320 neos, 10 Airbus A321s, and 7 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Reports on Tuesday indicated that domestic flight fares for the upcoming summer season are expected to rise by 20-25% due to Vistara flight cancellations and increaed air travel demand.

An analysis conducted by travel portal ixigo revealed that spot fares on certain routes surged by up to 39% during the period of April 1-7 compared to March 1-7. Notably, one-way spot fares for Delhi-Bengaluru flights climbed 39%, while they increased by 30% for Delhi-Srinagar flights.

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